


Agante

by elizabethemerald



Series: Morgana centric stories [3]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabethemerald/pseuds/elizabethemerald
Summary: Guinevere was the one who dragged Morgana out into the woods the night she died. Why? What did she have to show her?
Relationships: Morgana | Pale Lady/Guinevere (Tales of Arcadia)
Series: Morgana centric stories [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870798
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

"Gwen, where are you taking me?" Morgana asked, a laugh in her voice. 

"Into the forest! Arthur's too much of a stick in the mud to follow us here." Guinevere smiled broadly as she spoke. She hadn't released Morgana’s hand since she had woken her up in her bed chambers. 

"Yes, he always was afraid of these woods." Morgana couldn't help but match Gwen's smile. "But that doesn't explain why you are dragging me into the woods in the middle of the night!"

"I want to show you something, now come on! We have to hurry."

Morgana laughed again, and picked up her pace to match Gwen's. Even when she was no longer being dragged along, instead walking alongside her, Gwen still did not release her hand. 

The two of them walked quickly through the woods, over fallen logs and around majestic bushes. Morgana couldn't help but look at Gwen's hand in her own as they walked. 

"Here we are!" Gwen practically sang the words. 

Morgana looked around. They were deep in the woods, not far from the Killahead Bridge. They stood on the cliffs far above a distant pond, the only sound the thunder of the waterfall that fed the pond. Morgana put one hand on her hip. 

"Gwen. We've seen the Silver Falls before. During the day time. When we didn't have to sneak out of the castle to see it!"

"Trust me! This will be worth it!" Gwen sat down on the cliff's edge. Since she was still holding Morgana’s hand she had no choice but to sit as well. 

They sat for a moment just watching the falls. Morgana stiffened as Gwen leaned gently against her shoulder, but she didn't move away. She felt like her heart was doing flips like a jester in her chest. 

Morgana took a breath to speak again when Gwen stiffened at her side. She tightened her grip on Morgana’s hand, her other hand rising to pat at her arm and point. 

"Its starting its starting!"

The moon shifted on its nightly journey and as it did a beam of moonlight skid down the cliff. The moonbeam caught the spray off the waterfall reflecting and redirecting the light again and again until the entire fall gleamed with a pale light, like molten silver. 

"Isn't it beautiful, Morgana?" Gwen whispered, her voice hushed with awe. 

Morgana turned, taking in the gentle light playing across Gwen's face. It had been a long time since she had last seen such joy on her friend's face. Her own smile pulled at her lips and she turned her attention back to the falls. 

"Yes it is."

After a few minutes of silver light illuminating the area, the moonbeam moved on from the ideal spot of the falls and the light slowly faded until they were sitting in the dark again. 

"Thank you for showing me that, Gwen."

"Thanks for sharing it with me." Gwen's head had returned to Morgana’s shoulder now that the light show was done. "It was magical."

Gwen sighed softly, making no movement to return to the castle. Morgana, unsure what to do for a moment, lifted her hand, a golden spark dancing at her finger tips. The spark expanded, petals opening as a flower of golden light formed. When it was complete she handed it to Gwen. 

"Beautiful." Gwen said. 

Morgana could feel that Gwen wasn't looking at the flower. Her chin still sat on her shoulder, and she was looking at her face. She could feel Gwen's breath on her cheek. She knew if she turned to face her they would be basically nose to nose. So she kept her own face forward. 

However Gwen wasn't going to be ignored. She gently grabbed her chin and turned her so they were facing each other. Morgana couldn't resist her eyes flicking to Gwen's lips, and she noticed Gwen did the same with her own. 

Gwen's eyes slipped shut, her head tilting to the side. Morgana wanted nothing more than to match her, press their lips together, stay here in the woods all night in each other’s arms. Instead she jumped to her feet, pulling away from Gwen's grasp. 

"Guinevere you are betrothed to my brother!"

"Yes, and we are not married yet.” Gwen had a mischievous smile on her face. "Besides why can't I have both of the Pendragons? There's nothing quite like a matched set." 

"Gwen please. We can't do this. Arthur loves you."

"And I love him dearly. As a friend." 

Morgana turned away. "But your marriage…"

"Arthur and I will marry. I know our union will benefit the people of Camelot. Our marriage will not be loveless, but it doesn't have to be exclusive either." 

"Have you actually talked to Arthur about this?"

"Not in specifics. But I've noticed the way he looks at Lance during their sparing. Just as I've noticed the way you look at me."

Morgana turned back to her, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. 

"I thought I was better at hiding how I felt." She whispered. 

Gwen stood and put her arms around Morgana’s shoulders. 

"Maybe to others. But you and I, we grew up together. I know you better than anyone else alive. And I love you more than anyone else alive as well."

"Guinevere, I… We need to get back to the castle." Morgana turned away again, resolutely looking for the distant lights of Camelot. She heard Gwen sigh behind her. 

Morgana did her best to ignore her and continue walking back to the castle. She could hear Gwen's steps just behind her. 

"How long are we going to keep ignoring and dancing around our feelings?" Gwen asked, exasperation growing in her voice. "I can see you feel the same way about me!" 

Gwen caught up and tried to take Morgana’s hand again, when she snatched it away Gwen huffed and stomped ahead of her, pushing roughly through the underbrush. 

"Morgana, you can pretend all you want that you don't love me, but I'll always know better." Gwen snapped as she marched ahead, quickly out pacing her. "We could be happy, the three of us togeth- Aaagh!"

Morgana leapt forward as Gwen's words were cut off by her scream. She shoved passed the last bush and almost fell right off the edge of a cliff. Coils of magic steadied her on the cliff's edge. She could clearly see where a bit of the cliff had broken away. 

"Gwen! Gwen!" Morgana screamed leaning as far as she dared over the edge of the cliff. 

"I'm alive Morgana. I think my leg is broken." Gwen's voice was tight with pain. 

Morgana almost wept with relief. She could see Gwen down at the base of the cliff, her leg sitting at a decidingly unnatural angle. She reached for her staff, but her hand came up empty. She remembered belatedly that she had left it behind when Gwen had hurried her out the door. 

"Hold on Gwen! I'll find some way to get you out of there." Morgana called. 

She focused, her hands pressed together for a moment, then thrust one skyward. A golden rocket, trailing sparks shot out of her hand into the sky. It exploded in the air and lingered there. A clear distress flair, hopefully someone on the walls of Camelot would see it and send help. 

Gwen groaned softly down below. Morgana leaned forward again to look at her. She had managed to straighten her leg. She now sat with her back against the cliff face. 

"You're not going to leave me are you, Morgana?" Gwen's voice sounded very small and the fear there tore at Morgana’s heart. 

"No. I'll stay by your side until Arthur gets here. I promise."

"Thank you my love." Gwen replied. Morgana couldn't even bring herself to reprimand her. "Can I have some light down here?"

"Of course, Gwen. Anything you need."

Morgana clapped her hands together and then threw another handful of golden sparks into the air. These floated above the chasm casting a warm light on them both. 

Under the light of her magic Morgana looked closely at the walls of the pit. Maybe there would be some way for her to climb down. At least then Gwen wouldn't be alone. 

"Morgana!" 

"I'm here, Gwen. I-"

"MORGANA!!" 

Morgana’s head snapped up at the fear in Gwen's voice. Now her magic revealed what had been hidden there. Piles of bones scattered across the floor of the pit. Some were from animals, but some were from humans as well. 

And there, at the mouth of a cave neither had seen, attracted by their shouting, then angered by the light, a stalkling. It's eyes glowed red and Morgana could see its mouth open and ready to strike the immobile Guinevere. 

Distantly she could hear the sound of galloping horses. It must be Arthur and the knights! But they wouldn't arrive in time. 

Morgana cursed herself for leaving her staff behind. Without it there was nothing she could do for her. 

"Morgana, I love you, I love you so much." Gwen sobbed. "I love you more than I'll ever be able to say."

"Gwen I'm so sorry! Gwen please, I'm sorry." Morgana turned and screamed into the woods, another flare firing off her body into the sky. "Arthur! Hurry! Arthur!"

She turned back to the pit, tears pouring down her face. Gwen continued to shout her love as the Stalkling crept closer. It wasn't often its meals delivered themselves right to its nest, much less already incapable of fighting back. It was going to savour this. 

Morgana felt like her entire body was straining like a bow string. She loved Gwen more than life itself and there was nothing she could do other than watch her die. She loved her. She actually loved her. 

Just like that Morgana felt the tension in her body snap. A scream tore out of her throat as the Stalkling prepared to pounce. She screamed and her shadow, split into a dozen copies by the light of her magic, grew more solid. Each shadow shimmered with a gold border, then as her scream wavered and died they separated from her body. The shadow copies of herself jumped from the cliff’s edge pouncing on the stalkling and driving it away from Gwen. 

She could feel a splintering running along her hands and radiating out from her eyes. Her skin cracked and broke as she poured more and more of whatever this strange magic was into protecting Gwen. She had to get her away from the stalkling. 

A whirling black hole opened up underneath Gwen and she fell in with a cut off cry. Morgana screamed again. She couldn’t get this close only to let Gwen get taken by some dark portal. She was distantly aware that the horses she had heard were suddenly much closer. Someone was calling her name, but she couldn’t focus on them. She had to save Gwen. Without another thought, she jumped from the cliff diving into the portal that had claimed Guinevere.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you think I would just leave the story like that? Morgana mourning her love? No. I write happy gays. And Gwen and Morgana deserve to be together. No longer canon compliant. Obvs.

“Morgana! Can you hear me?” 

The voice came to her as if through layers of fog. Morgana struggled to open her eyes and focus on the light around her. The ground she was on was swaying wildly. It seemed a struggle to form words but her mind wouldn’t let her rest. 

“Gwen! Where-?”

“We have her. Gwen’s here.”

“Is she-?”

“She’s alive. By whatever magic or miracle she’s alive. We’re bringing you back to Camelot now.”

Her fears assuaged she slipped back into unconsciousness, her world narrowing to the feeling of a hand on her wrist, a hand she knew. Then even that faded completely. 

* * *

“Gwen!” Morgana sat up with a scream, her eyes wild as she looked around for her.

“I’m here Morgana. I’m right here.”

She felt tears immediately bead and fall from her eyes as they fell upon Guinevere. The other woman was laying in another bed in the royal chambers, her leg wrapped in a plaster. 

“No thanks to you, she survived the stalkling!” Arthur stepped in between them, his face red with fury. “What were you doing out in the woods at that time of night? You know better than to drag Gwen into your foolishness!”

Morgana closed an eye as his voice seemed to pierce directly into her skull. It provided no relief when Merlin stepped to her other side, his voice just as grating. 

“How were you able to cast such powerful magics without a staff? What did you do to the stalkling?”

Their voices drilled further into her head, her headache spiking. 

“You are lucky Galahad noticed your flare. If we hadn’t arrived you both could have been troll food!” Arthur yelling again. 

Morgana clenched her fists. She could feel her hands starting to splinter again. They both kept shouting at her, never giving her a chance to explain what happened. Both of them blaming her for Gwen’s near death experience. Each word bore into her, threatening to severe her very tenuous hold on her emotions and the strange magic she had used. Just when she thought she couldn’t take one more word without lashing out, a voice cut through the noise. 

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Merlin and Arthur both fell silent at Gwen’s shout. “I’ve heard enough of you two lecturing her! I will not sit by while you insult the person who saved my life!”

Both of the men started to speak again, either accusations or excuses, but Gwen shut them down with another shout. 

“I said enough! Merlin thank you for you council, this conversation is a family affair now.”

“I really must insist-”

“You are dismissed wizard.” Gwen’s voice brooked no argument, as only the voice of a future queen could. Merlin bowed low to her, then to Arthur, then shot a suspicious glare at Morgana before departing. 

Arthur waited until the door closed behind the wizard before whirling on Morgana again, anger in his eyes. 

“Save it Arthur!” Gwen snapped. “You already have been lecturing me ever since you found us in the woods. I can just give her the notes later, can’t you see that she’s tired?”

He stilled, slowly rubbing his hand over his face and removing his crown. 

“I was just so afraid that I would lose you.”

“Yes I know. You love us both very much and you would chain us up in the prisons to keep us safe if you could.”

Arthur’s jaw dropped in horror at the claim. 

“No! I would never lock you up!”

Gwen sighed. “I know. That was cruel of me to say. But I need you to Stop yelling at her. And I need you to listen to me so I can explain what happened.”

Arthur took a seat in between the two beds. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Gwen took a moment to order her thoughts before diving into her explanation. 

“Morgana was not the one who dragged me into the woods. I was the one who took her.” Arthur took a breath to speak, but Gwen’s hand flew up to stop him. “I wanted to show her the Silver Falls during a full moon. The rumor from the trolls was that it was a breath taking sight to behold.

“Then on our way back to the castle I got ahead of Morgana. I was excited to get back to the castle so we could talk about what we saw.” Morgana couldn’t help but stare as Gwen spoke. She didn’t bring up the conversation they had, had. However Gwen did not even glance her way. “I walked along the edge of a chasm, and the rocks gave way beneath my feet dropping me into the pit. I broke my leg on the fall.”

Gwen’s hand dropped unconsciously to her leg and Morgana could see the corners of her eyes pinched in pain. 

“With the light from Morgana’s magic I was able to see the Stalkling lair I had landed in front of. Morgana used her magic to keep the beast back and then lift me up the cliff out of its reach.”

Now Gwen’s eyes did flick to her own. There was something she wasn’t telling Arthur, but hopefully they would have the chance to discuss it later. 

“Your knights found us right after that.” Gwen finished

Arthur stood, his eyes more tired than even the early hour required. 

“I’m glad you are safe. Both of you. Morgana...I’m sorry, and thank you, for saving her.” Morgana nodded, still not trusting her voice. “If there is anything I can do for you I owe you a debt for saving Gwen’s life.”

“I think we just need to rest.” Morgana finally said, after a silent moment. 

“Very well. I’ll leave you and instruct that you are not to be disturbed.” Arthur said. ‘

He turned away and made for the door. Gwen shot a pleading look at Morgana before stopping her betrothed. 

“Arthur wait!” Guinevere called to him. He turned back to face her. “Do you remember our conversation about consorts?”

“I recall. Has someone caught your eye?” Arthur asked, clearly confused by the sudden topic change. 

“Yes. My eye, and my heart.” Gwen somehow kept her eyes from sliding over to Morgana’s. “Tonight’s adventure… with how close I came to dying… I realized I need to act on these feelings.” She hesitated, her eyes dropping to her broken leg. “I love them.”

“Oh, Gwen.” Arthur’s eyes were sad, yet it did not show on his voice. “If you but say the word I will annul our engagement, so that you may pursue this person.”

“Arthur, please! You and I have both known how important our engagement is for the people of Camelot since we were children. We Will be married. And together we will build a better future for our people. However I would ask your permission to pursue my love in private, out of the public eye.”

“Very well Gwen. I have no qualms. Who is this mysterious person? I wouldn’t even fault you if it was Lancelot.”

“Lance, is fine to look at, but I think he’s more your type than mine.” There was a small chuckle in Gwen’s voice, before she grew serious. “You have to promise you won’t hurt them or be angry with them.”

“Fine I promise. Now who is he?”

“She. I love her so much she gives the stars their light, and makes the roses bloom in my eyes.” Guinevere hesitated again, before her eyes slid sideways to meet Morgana’s. “And she is in this room.”

Arthur looked confused for a second before he followed her gaze to Morgana. His face immediately took on a ruddy hue and he looked like he was about to start shouting again. 

“You promised not to be angry!” Gwen said before he could even take a breath. 

At this Arthur deflated. He rubbed his hand down his face, the exhaustion from the evening’s adventure taking its toll. 

“Really? My own sister?” Arthur hesitated, looking between them. “And do you love her in return?”

“I love her more than anything in this realm or any other. I will love her until my dying breath and beyond until sun goes out.” Morgana said. 

“Then how can I protest?” Arthur said simply. “It is late. And you two need to rest and recover from your ordeal. We can discuss this more when you are recovered.”

“Thank you Arthur.”

“Thank you, brother.”

Arthur gave them one last fond look before he departed their chamber. Gwen released a heavy breath then squirmed in the bed to try and make herself comfortable. 

“Do you think you could make it over to my bed?” Gwen asked. 

“For you? Of course.” 

Morgana almost immediately made herself a liar as she struggled to stand, yet stand she did. She hobbled across the small space between the two beds until she was leaning against Gwen’s. She kept her arms crossed over her stomach, and winced as she lowered herself down next to her. 

“Are you in pain?” Gwen asked, concern heavy on her voice. 

“It aches here.” Morgana said, gesturing to her stomach. “And on my arms. As if I had survived a beating several days ago.”

Guinevere held her face, looking carefully at her eyes for a moment. 

“Well I’m glad that the cracks have disappeared at least.” She kissed Morgana gently on the cheek. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been that afraid in my life.”

“Of me?”

“For you. Never of you. I could never be afraid of you.”

Gwen leaned forward again, and this time Morgana moved to meet her. Their lips found each other as they sank into the kiss. Morgana ran her hands through Gwen’s long hair, and Gwen held Morgana close, pressing their bodies together. Finally they pulled back, each a little breathless and flushed. 

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long.” Morgana whispered. 

“Then kiss me again.” Gwen whispered back, a hint of order in her voice. 

Morgana raised an eyebrow, but complied. This kiss lasted longer, both of their hands roving, as they both enjoyed what had been denied to them for so long. After a long kiss, Gwen pulled back and moved to give Morgana more room on the bed. She hissed and grimaced in pain as she shifted. 

“Have you not had any healing magic since you’ve been back to the castle?” Morgana asked. 

“Merlin refused to even consider casting a spell, until he figured out what you had done.”

“Well let me remedy this immediately.”

Morgana put out her hand and called her staff to her. She extended it with a thought and after a few muttered words, golden sigils spun into the air around Gwen’s broken leg. Guinevere sighed, and the pinched look left her eyes. Morgana set her staff down at the side of their bed. 

“I love your magic so much.” Gwen said, her words slowing, as the ignored exhaustion weighed her down. “Though we will eventually have to talk about what you did back there.”

“Eventually. But not today.”

“No, not today.”

Sleep came for them quickly. Their exhaustion from the late night excursion and the magic dragged them to the realm of dreams. Bodies curled together, they slept. Knowing that upon the dawn they would still have each other. No matter what. Until the sun burned out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter of this fic is technically canon compliant. Could you imagine if Morgana had not been able to save Gwen after the conversation in the first chapter? Gwen admits she loves Morgana and then dies. Does Morgana tell Arthur? How would he react to that confession? How would Morgana feel knowing Arthur blames her for Gwen's death? That he blames her magic? The thing Gwen loved so much. I just thought it would add a lot more angst to the canon material.   
> But here in this house, we don't bury our gays. They get happy, poly, romances, that completely change the canon material. Any I hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still going on my nonsense of naming every Morgana centric story after one of her names. Mistress of many names makes for such easy story titles. 
> 
> I wanted to write a little scene with Morgana and Guinevere just prior to her death. I couldn't see that scene and not see gay subtext.


End file.
